The Great Cahill Switch
by screamattheskyx3
Summary: What if Dan was Ian's brother and Natalie was Amy's sister? Find out how the story unfolds in the first 39 Clues book as our favorite characters take on new roles.
1. Prologue

**The Great Cahill Switch**

Summary: What if Dan was Ian's brother and Natalie was Amy's sister? Find out how the story unfolds in the first 39 Clues book as our favorite characters take on new roles.

Disclaimer: Don't own 39 Clues. Rick Riordan is AWESOME. (: I took like, two lines of his. I couldn't think of anything else to put there. I do not own ANYTHING. No suing. :P

**This idea just came to me. I don't know. If it's useless, I'll scrap it. It's all up to you...the prologue should be clear of mistakes because it's been betaed by Another Artist. Yay! :)**

**Review and let me know what you think. --Sky

* * *

**

Prologue

"Are you guys sure about this?"

"Yes, Nellie--we're sure." Dan rolled his eyes slightly, climbing into the boat.

Amy climbed in after him. "Everything about the Bermuda Triangle is just a myth."

Nellie muttered, "Oh, don't be so sure..." under her breath, but revved up the speedboat and sped towards the desired location.

Apparently, her au pairees discovered that the next clue was somewhere on a small remote island in the Bermuda Triangle. Nellie was easygoing enough to agree and take them there, but now, she wasn't so sure. And the weird feeling in the pit of her stomach wasn't exactly reassuring either.

"I wonder if we'll see aliens..." Dan said dreamily.

"You're such a dweeb." Amy commented. "There are no such things as aliens."

"Oh, yeah? Then what am I looking at right now?"

"You are so immature!"

Typical Amy and Dan; they were always bickering like normal, every day siblings. It was nice to see them fight because it showed that they could still be normal kids even though they recently discovered they were part of the deadly Madrigal branch.

Oh, if only Nellie could tell them things.

Minutes passed, and Dan started getting bored, as expected of him. "Are we there yet?"

"Almost, kiddo," Nellie answered, gritting her teeth as a strong wind blew toward them.

"When did it get this windy?!" Amy yelled over the blustery air.

"I'm not sure!" The au pair responded, yelling even louder as the wind picked up.

"Are we there yet?!?!" Dan bellowed at the top of his lungs.

"Dan, shut UP!"

"Make me!"

One of these days, Nellie was going to snap. But it wasn't going to be this day.

"We're here..." Nellie trailed off as the boat skidded to a sudden stop.

Now her stomach was _really_ acting up.

* * *

**Wahh, short prologue, I know. Please review and let me know what you think of my first 39 Clues story! Weee....**


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Five minutes before her death, Grace Cahill changed her will.

Her lawyer, William McIntyre left the room and returned moments later with the alternate version of the will. For seven years, it was a precious secret that no one knew but William. He wasn't quite sure if the woman actually had the guts to use it, but if he knew anything, it was that Grace was person who had a lot of guts.

"Madam, are you sure about going through with this?" He asked carefully.

Grace took a long while to sigh and stroked her Egyptian Mau's soft silver fur. Saladin had stuck by her side through thick and thin (mostly thick), and could usually comfort her. But today, nothing would make Grace feel at ease. She was about to make a decision that could cause the end of the world as humans knew it.

"Yes," she paused for a breath, "I'm positive."

As her adviser began breaking the seal of the envelope, Grace prayed that everything would work out in the end. If only she had more time, if only this day on Earth wasn't her last...there was so much that she didn't tell the children, so much that would and could aid them.

William held out the document for Grace to look over and sign.

In a few short moments, everything would change. Mostly for the worse.

_It's a chance I'm willing to take..._Grace thought as she closed her eyes.

* * *

Dan knew he had the most bothersome older brother ever in existence. Why did he have to suffer? Why was he born a Kabra? What with their money and power and family and--

He stared at his reflection through the window. _Silk suits and ties? Kill. Me. Now!_

However, Ian was instead smoothing out his silk suit like there was a wrinkle or perhaps a small piece of lint or dust on it. Obviously, there wasn't, but he was double-checking.

"You're good, Ian. It's spotless." Dan huffed under his breath as Ian began triple-checking.

Ian, being the one with perceptive hearing replied, "I suppose someone--ah, what is it they say in America?--woke up on the right side of the bed this morning?"

"It's 'wrong' side."

"What is it with Americans and their sayings?"

Dan rolled his eyes.

The Kabras always wondered about him the minute he was born. He definitely did NOT act like one, for starters. From a tender age, instead of learning how to play the piano and speak fluent French, he was interested in video games and ninjas. Definitely ninjas. Then when the Kabras took a trip to Boston a few years ago, Dan was determined to become like an American.

Ian (along with the rest of the family) was clearly not happy with this. Why try to act like a filthy American? It was mind-boggling.

Just then, the car--or perhaps, limo--pulled to a stop. Ian and Dan stayed sitting in their seats until the driver came around and opened the door on Dan's side. He stepped out first, and Ian followed shortly.

Ah, Grace's mansion. Dan liked this place. He had only visited the great manor once every year when Grace hosted her annual Christmas party, but he knew this place already like the back of his hand. With photographic memory, it wasn't hard. This was a house that Dan would like to live in. But that wouldn't be possible.

Ian nudged his younger brother in the ribs and gestured with his head at the large crowd a few meters away.

"Right, the funeral," The unhappy Kabra murmured, following behind Ian.

"Well, well, well, look what the snakes dragged in..." A voice boomed from behind the brothers.

They turned in unison and saw purple--a lot of purple. Ian kept a straight face, but Dan wanted to make a mean comment to his freakish cousins and their equally freakish parents.

"Hello, Dolts." Ian greeted, a fake smile on his lips.

"Oh, am I supposed to laugh?" Madison Holt sneered, turning up her nose.

Dan rolled his eyes yet again that day.

Madison stood next to her twin sister, Reagan. Beside them was their older brother, Hamilton (who Dan had to admit was the coolest out of the whole bunch), their pit bull, Arnold, and taking up the rear was the odd match of Eisenhower and Mary-Todd. They all wore identical purple running suits and had blond hair. But you knew better than to mess with them; they may be idiots, but they could still beat you to a pulp.

"Nice suits," Hamilton commented with a smirk.

"Thank you; it was custom-tailored." Ian began.

Dan finished before Ian started going into detail, "Where did you guys get your outfits? The _99-Cents Store_?"

Ian patted Dan on the back as if he were saying, "Jolly good, old chap! We got those nits!" Or something like that. Dan wasn't sure what his brother said half the time.

"Quiet, you little rat! Or I'll--!" Eisenhower stepped forward, fists clenched and teeth bared.

"Eisenhower, be calm." Mary-Todd advised.

"Yeah, Dad, be calm." Reagan repeated.

_"RAWF!"_ Arnold barked.

"Whatever, punks. You won't be the ones laughing when we inherit all of that crazy old bat's fortune!" Eisenhower roared. The rest of the family laughed with him and together, they strode off.

"Wow, I can't believe they actually got lamer and stupider this year." Dan shook his head with disbelief.

"Well said, brother." Ian agreed.

Not far away, a small car pulled up on the street next to Grace's driveway. Two girls made their way out of the car.

The younger girl, with dark hair and cinnamon-colored skin--who strangely resembled Ian--wore a black dress that looked simply stunning on her. The older girl, with reddish-brown hair and pale skin--who strangely resembled Dan--wore a black dress that looked somewhat similar to the younger girl's. She seemed uncomfortable in it; whereas the younger girl looked perfectly fine to be all dressed up.

Then Dan noticed his older brother looking over at the older girl, Amy. He waved his hands frantically in Ian's face. "Ian, snap out of it!"

Ian blinked a few times, before focusing on Dan. "Yes, what is it?"

"Do you like Amy?" He asked, a sneaky smile making its way onto his features.

"No. Don't make such preposterous accusations." Ian retorted in a serious manner as if liking a common person was as ridiculous as wearing the same clothes twice.

_Oh, maybe he was admiring the...shrubbery. Yeah, that's it._ Dan thought to himself.

Amy and Natalie Cahill walked up to the Kabras. Amy looked kind of scared, while Natalie looked exactly the opposite. Dan didn't know how the two were related.

"Hello, Ian. Daniel." Natalie seemed to be scheming something and had a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Natalie." Ian replied stonily. "Amy." His gaze seemed to linger on Amy much longer than Natalie.

"H-Hi, I-Ian," Amy stuttered, avoiding his penetrating stare.

Dan really wondered how she was related to the elusive, mysterious Natalie Cahill now.

"Well, places to go, people to see." Dan sighed dramatically. "Better be going now..." Dan pushed Ian towards the funeral with all his strength. He managed to get him to the rest of the Cahill family and put his hands on his knees, panting. "You're heavy."

"You could have told me to move." Ian pointed out matter-of-factly, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, yeah," Dan mumbled, tapping his fingers on the object in his right pants pocket.

Suddenly, the minister cleared his throat and the crowd grew silent. He said many long things that Dan didn't bother listening to. Some men lowered the coffin into the ground. Everybody tossed in a clump of dirt. Dan realized that the Holts seemed to like this part a lot and began throwing in extra clumps for the people too sad to throw anything at all. Dan recognized some other relatives; some seemed mournful, some looked like they wanted to be somewhere else, and some didn't show any emotion whatsoever.

There was Alistair Oh, the old Korean dude with his weird diamond-tipped cane. He was in the Ekaterina branch and apparently, he made a living by inventing microwaveable burritos or something. Dan never really had a liking for burritos--he preferred tacos--, so he didn't know all the details. Then he saw Irina Spasky, a Russian lady who _always_ hid some kind of weapon in her fingers and _always_ glared at you. She was in the Lucian branch, the same one he and Ian were in. The Starling triplets--Ned, Ted, and Sinead--all had red hair and looked like a bunch of cloned super geniuses. They were Ekaterinas, no doubt. Even Jonah Wizard, the hip-hop sensation was there. He was off to one side, taking pictures with girls and signing posters, CDs, and foreheads. He wore lots of gold chains, ripped baggy jeans, and a black muscle shirt, which Dan thought was pointless since Jonah didn't have any muscles at all.

After the long service, a man in a dull gray suit made his way up to the podium. Dan squinted and tried hard to remember him. He had a long pointed nose and a bald head. What was his name?

"Thank you all for coming here today. I am William McIntyre, Grace Cahill's lawyer, adviser, and executor."

"Executor?" Dan poked Ian in the arm. "Was he the guy who killed Grace?" He whispered.

Ian learned to deal with his brother's idiocy over the years and sighed slightly. "No, Dan. He is in charge of her will. And Grace died of an illness, not from murder."

"Oh." Dan sighed, slightly relieved. He didn't want to admit it, but he had grown fond of Grace.

"Now, on to the most important part," William straightened his tie and cleared his throat. "Everyone has received a program, yes?"

Answers were murmured.

"Please look inside your programs now. Some of you will find a gold invitation."

This got everyone excited. The sound of over four hundred programs being ripped and torn rippled through the air. Most of them found nothing and said explicit words. Dan carefully opened his program while Ian hovered over him.

A gold invitation! It read:

_**Ian and Dan Kabra**__ are hereby invited to the_

_reading of the last will and testament_

_of Grace Cahill_

**Where**

_The Great Hall_

**When**

_Now_

"I suspected this." Ian said thoughtfully, peering at the invitation.

Dan glanced over and saw Amy mouthing the words on the invitation. Natalie caught his gaze and gave him an evil look. If there was an Olympic event for glaring evilly, Natalie would take home the gold.

"I assure all of you," William said, raising his voice to be heard over the crowd, "the invitations were not done by random selection. To those of you who did not receive an invitation, Grace Cahill did not mean any impertinence towards you. Only a few of the Cahill family were chosen as the most likely."

Dan wasn't sure what 'most likely' meant, but he was happy he and Ian were included in the will reading. People with invitations were already hurrying toward Grace's house like someone was giving away a million dollars.

Little did he know that that was exactly what could happen in the next few moments.

* * *

The Great Hall was certainly great.

Light shone in from the enormous windows that took up an entire wall. There were coats of arms and a realistic-looking model of a knight from medieval times. The hall made you feel like you were living among kings and queens.

People scrambled to find seats. Dan did a quick head count of about forty people, including the Holts, Starlings, Jonah, Alistair, Irina, all of the creepy people he didn't trust. As William McIntyre pressed a button on a tiny remote, an old-looking woman hobbled in and plopped down in the front row next to Amy with a permanent scowl on her face. Dan sat directly behind the frightening woman. He didn't exactly know her, but he knew her well enough that she was not to be trusted either.

A projector screen slowly descended from the ceiling as William held up a hand for everyone to settle down. He pulled a document out of a leather folder and adjusted his reading glasses. " 'I, Grace Cahill, being of sound mind and body, do hereby divide my entire estate among those who accept the challenge and those who do not.' "

"Yo, dawg, what's that supposed to mean?" Jonah hollered from the back of the room.

"May I continue?" William asked patiently.

"Sure, homie."

The lawyer seemed uncomfortable with Jonah's response, but read on: " 'All of you have been chosen as the most likely to succeed in the most dangerous, yet greatest competition mankind has ever known. This will be a mission of significant importance to the entire Cahill family and the entire world, as well.' "

Forty people opened their mouths that second and started blabbering away.

"Competition?" Cousin Matilda demanded. "What's that old woman talking about?"

"Where's the money?" Uncle Francis hollered. "Who does she think she is, telling us to go on a mission? I want the money!"

Dan immediately knew what Grace was talking about and glanced at Ian meaningfully. Ian nodded slightly. Alistair muttered something and Irina whispered something back to him, but most of the other Cahills looked bewildered.

"Please," Mr. McIntyre held up a hand once again. "If you wish for an explanation, I suggest you watch the screen. I am positive that Madame Cahill can explain this whole ordeal better than I."

Ian looked at Dan and raised an eyebrow. Dan shrugged. Wasn't Grace already dead? Everyone saw the coffin being lowered in the ground. Everyone tossed in dirt--some more than others.

The shouting ceased as Grace appeared on the screen, sending some people into a complete shock. She was stroking Saladin and looked less ill. This video clearly was made months ago, before her cancer had gotten fatal.

"If you are watching this, it means I am dead, and I have made the decision to use my alternate will. Surely, you all have many questions unanswered and are giving Mr. McIntyre a hard time about this contest I have instituted. This may be difficult for all of you, but stop talking for a minute and pay attention."

"Hey, just a minute!" Eisenhower Holt objected, but his entire family shushed him. He grumbled and stared back at the screen.

"This contest must be taken seriously. You all belong to the Cahill family, but many of you do not comprehend how important this family is."

More shouting erupted from the spectators. Irina Spasky stood up and glared personally and each and every one of her relatives. "Silence, all of you!" Dan thought he heard her curse in a different language. It was probably Russian.

Grace's image flickered. "I have chosen all of you specifically because I believe you all have the potential to succeed in this great challenge. You may form a team to pursue the competition or you might prefer to work alone. I am afraid, however, that a good fraction of the people in this room will decline the challenge and run away. Let me remind you that only one team or person will win, and each of you must sacrifice your portion of the inheritance to partake in this."

At this point, all was quiet in the Great Hall; everyone held their breath, awaiting Grace's next words. She held up a manila envelope. Her eyes were hard and she was dead serious.

"If you accept the challenge, you will be given the first of thirty-nine clues. These clues, put together, unlock a secret that can change humanity as we known it. This secret has the power to make _you_ the most powerful human beings on the planet. You now realize the importance of the Cahill family, I hope. Now, my next step is for you all to listen to Mr. McIntyre. He will explain the rules. Think clearly before you make your final decision." She stared straight into the camera, and for a second, it seemed like she was actually there, among the rest of the family.

Dan saw Ian peering over at Amy and Natalie who were completely frozen. Amy looked and probably felt a mixture of emotions. Natalie just looked baffled, which was rare.

Before they even knew it, the screen went black. Amy and Natalie shared a look and seemed to be speaking to each other through their minds.

Ian heaved a heavy sigh; he and Dan already knew about this whole thing. They just wanted Mr. McIntyre to explain everything already so they could begin.

"Importance of the Cahill family? We're just ordinary people!" Cousin Marcus protested.

"She insulted us!" Eisenhower bellowed.

"William," Alistair Oh interjected, his voice rose above the others. "There are people in this room I don't even recognize, people who may not even be of the Cahill bloodline! How can we be certain that--?"

"Mr. Oh, I assure you that everyone here is a Cahill." Mr. McIntyre said.

"Even you, Mr. McIntyre?" Dan asked curiously.

The old man turned away quickly. "That--"

"Where's the money?" The old woman beside Amy complained. "It's just like my sister to come up with this imprudence! I--"

"Madam Beatrice, you may decline the challenge if that is what you wish. If you do so, you automatically receive what is under your chair."

Just like that, forty people stuck their hands under their chair.

"Hey, Dad, put me down!" Reagan cried, her chair (with her still in it) a few feet in the air.

"Oh, sorry, kiddo." Eisenhower lowered the chair back onto solid ground and Reagan gave her dad a mean look behind his back.

Ian revealed a green slip of paper with a lot of numbers and the words 'ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND'. Dan held one up, as did everyone else at this point.

"That bank voucher will only be activated when you decline the challenge. If you do so, each of you has the opportunity to walk out of this room with a million dollars without a second thought about Grace Cahill. Or..." Mr. McIntyre paused. "You may accept the challenge and receive a clue, the clue that could lead you to the most important treasure in the world and make you powerful beyond your wildest imaginations."

Grace's lawyer moved his focus to Amy and Natalie. "Keep in mind, that this very clue might be the thing that will kill you. One million dollars or the first clue; you all have five minutes to decide starting now."

* * *

**Yeah, I lied. Sorry. REALLY sorry. If you want, you can tomato me. Or cabbage me; whatever vegetable you dislike!**

**Anyways, this won't happen again. I should never set dates for myself. It always turns out horrible.**

**But enjoy this chapter nevertheless! :) Review and tell me what you think. If Dan seems out of character sometimes, it's because he's a Kabra, so of course he'd be more...diabolical. A little bit more, though, not like murder-someone-diabolical.**

**Uhm...that's all. Thanks for reading all the way down to this last sentence! You're amazing!**

**-Sky**


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Natalie knew that she had the most aggravating older sister in the history of aggravating older sisters. Amy was sitting on her right, staring at her green slip, agape. It was so obvious what they were going to choose!

Their Aunt Beatrice stormed up to the podium and started yelling at Mr. McIntyre about this "foolishness that her sister had bestowed on everyone", or something. Natalie turned to Amy, who looked the same as she did five seconds ago. Who cared about some wild goose chase and treasure? The treasure was all in the green slip.

"Amy, listen to me!" Natalie put her hands on her sister's shoulders. "We're going to each take a million dollars. Then we can run away from Aunt Beatrice. It won't matter by that time because we'll be rich!"

Amy said nothing.

"Think about it; we could get everything we wanted! I could get new clothes and you could get all the...books you wanted!" Natalie reasoned. "This is an offer we can't pass up!"

"You're right." Amy murmured softly.

"I am right!--Wait, are you agreeing with me?" Natalie raised an eyebrow.

"This _is_ an offer we can't pass up. We have to take the clue." Amy said firmly.

"Are you loony in the head, Amy?" Natalie snapped.

"We both know that if we took the money, Aunt Beatrice would just insist that we save it for college." Amy tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "And I know that...Grace would want us to make the right choice by not taking the money."

Natalie had no response to this. She was speechless for the first time in her life. Amy just had to bring this all up.

It was true, Aunt Beatrice would force to do whatever she wanted them to do with the money. She was their legal guardian, after all. But for some peculiar reason, after their parents died, Grace literally begged Aunt Beatrice to take Amy and Natalie in. At first, Natalie was the one most outraged at this and tried to be mad at Grace. But come weekend, her angry feelings were replaced with ones of joy when she and Amy visited Grace's house.

After Sunday, things were back to normal. For the past seven years, the sisters suffered under Aunt Beatrice's care. She was cruel, and cared nothing for Amy or Natalie. She often left them with an au pair, but it wasn't like they did a better job.

Then there was Grace. Grace would be proud if they accepted the challenge. Natalie could almost hear Grace speaking to her, saying, "You will make me proud. My adventures will seem like nothing compared to the ones you will have."

What adventures? They went to public school like normal kids. They did homework. They watched TV and movies.

By now, Amy and Natalie were thinking the same thing. If they declined the challenge, then maybe things could change slightly. Some of the money could be used for personal things, right? It could make their lives better. The suffering would be gone.

At least...Natalie thought so. But as Amy stared at their family yelling and screaming, she wasn't so sure. The money would help them. But if they took the clue, it would not only make Grace proud, but their parents as well.

Natalie didn't remember them at all. They died when she was really young. She could make out a woman with reddish-brown hair like Amy and a man with a caring smile. But that was all. Everything else was a big blur. She didn't want to tell Amy about making their parents proud because it would bring back bad memories, but she had a feeling that Amy was already thinking that.

"Okay," Natalie began slowly. "We have about three minutes to decide now."

Amy gave Natalie a pained expression. She was dearly afraid of big crowds and this was no exception. It didn't help that it was so loud, Amy could barely think.

The Holts were squaring up against poor old Alistair. Sinead Starling was screaming at her brothers. Irina Spasky was cursing in some foreign language--it was most likely Russian--at Jonah Wizard and his dad, Broderick. The Wizards stared back at Irina; they certainly did not know Russian. Cousins were yelling at uncles and aunts. Uncles were yelling at nieces and aunts were yelling at children no older than Amy.

"You'll decline the challenge, right?" Someone behind the Cahill sisters asked.

Natalie turned first and saw Ian Kabra, with Dan sitting at his side, both looking slightly smug. Amy, despite the commotion, managed to make her stomach do a flip. Ian was beyond good-looking. He had cinnamon-colored skin, eyes like amber, and a pearly-white smile. He was fourteen, the same age as Amy, but he acted like a twenty-year-old. His silk suit and tie were completely perfect with no creases. He even smelled heavenly. Amy almost slapped herself for being so observant.

"I would be sad if something happened to you, Amy. You desperately need the money, I believe." Ian said with mock sadness.

Amy flushed with embarrassment. How did Ian always manage to make her feel like an idiot?

"It's so weird how we're related." Dan added.

"I doubt we're related, Daniel." Natalie shot back, putting emphasis on Dan's full name. "Amy and I aren't mutants who like to play dress up and pretend we're bankers."

Dan glared, but Ian spoke. "This is all a big misunderstanding, dear Natalie. We want you to take the money, improve your poor lives, and never think about the rich and famous again."

"G-Grace," Amy started shakily. "Grace w-would w-want--"

"Would want you to risk your lives in some silly scavenger hunt and be killed?" Ian finished. "Are you certain about this, Amy? Did the old woman tell you about this beforehand?"

"What's it to you?" Natalie replied.

"So you guys were left in the dark like everyone else here," Dan said. "Just like everyone else; it looks like Grace doesn't pick favorites."

This time, it was Natalie's turn to glare. Amy stared at the ground, silent.

"Ah, Dan, perhaps you're right." Ian flashed a smile at Amy. "We wouldn't want to see our favorite cousins suffer a painful death."

The Kabras strode off, mixing in with the angry crowd.

"One day," Natalie started, fists clenched. "I will slap them so hard that they'll be stunned. Then I'll bury them in a remote part of the Gobi Desert."

Amy wasn't surprised that Natalie could be so threatening. That was her style. "They're taking the clue."

"No, really?" Natalie replied in a sarcastic tone. "Two million dollars is nothing to those idiots."

"They want us to take the money..." Amy continued.

"Which gives us all the more reason to take the challenge," Natalie sighed, exasperated. Her sister could be really slow sometimes.

"It doesn't matter." Amy said harshly, which was unusual for her. "They were right. We have poor lives that can be improved." But in the back of her mind, Amy couldn't help wondering about how this clue could help them become the most powerful people on Earth. Once that happened, there was no telling the things she could do.

"Okay, you're right." Natalie plunked down into the soft chair. "I sure would love to smack those Kabras around a few times after we win."

Just then, Aunt Beatrice marched over and grabbed the children. Her face was a mixture of wrinkles and rage. Natalie coughed from her putrid stench. "You two will listen to me! I intend to take my million dollars and that is exactly what you upstarts will do as well! Of course, I will put the money in accounts for you until you're of age."

"Of what age, sixty?" Natalie muttered bitterly.

"In return, I will allow you to continue to live under the custody of me." She finished.

Amy's anger skyrocketed. "You'll _allow _us to live under your custody?! No thanks, but I'd rather not live in your 'apartment'."

Natalie looked impressed and gave Amy a reassuring smile. But Amy returned to her normal phase. Aunt Beatrice looked ready to slap Amy, and she wouldn't hold back just because she was a child.

"Watch your mouth, Amy Joanne Cahill!" Beatrice roared, her breath smelling of death and decay. "Do as I say or else!"

"Or else what?" Natalie asked with complete innocence plastered on her face.

Beatrice's face turned the color of a ripe tomato. "I can and will disown you. Social Services will take care of you little urchins. You will both be orphans and I'll make sure you get zero help from any Cahill! You'll take the money and forget about my sister's ridiculous wishes of you two finding the--" She stopped suddenly, realizing what she was about to say.

"Finding what?" Natalie demanded.

"That is none of your business, young lady." Beatrice turned away and left the children alone. Amy thought she sounded scared.

"Nat--" Amy started, but Mr. McIntyre rang a bell. The turmoil stopped abruptly as everyone took their seats.

"It is time for your decision. I have one final warning for you all: You may not change your mind once you have made it."

Amy and Natalie stared at each other.

_What do we do, Amy?_

_I'm not sure. I'm kind of scared of Aunt Beatrice now..._

_Don't tell me you're actually scared of that old bag!_

_Well..._

_If we don't take the challenge, it's back to the drawing board! Except this time, there won't be weekend trips to Grace's house._

_But then--_

_And don't tell me you actually like seeing the hideous smirk on Ian and Dan's face!_

"Keep in mind that only one individual or team," --Mr. McIntyre's eyes flickered briefly towards Amy and Natalie-- "will find the treasure. I am uncertain where the hunt will lead you. All around the world, possibly. Now, it's time to choose. Who will step up to the plate first?"

Aunt Beatrice stood confidently. "This is absurd! I'll take the money, of course."

Mr. McIntyre nodded. "The minute you leave this room, the numbers on the bank voucher will become active. You may then proceed to withdraw money from the Royal Bank of Scotland whenever you wish. Who is next?"

Several others stood and walked out the door, a green slip in their hands. Cousin Matilda, Uncle Francis, and more. Each of them became millionaires in five minutes.

Then the Kabras rose from their seats a few rows behind Amy and Natalie. "We accept the challenge as a team of two. Give us the clue." Ian demanded.

"Your vouchers," Mr. McIntyre said, extending an arm.

Ian and Dan approached the table and each handed him the bank voucher. Mr. McIntyre burned two million dollars with a black cigarette lighter. Everyone around watched with great curiosity. Then he held out a manila envelope sealed with wax to them. "Do not, I repeat, do not read this until instructed by me. Ian and Dan, you will be Team One."

"Hey! Foul!" Eisenhower boomed. He sprinted up to the table with his family following close behind. "The Holts are a team! Except, we have to be Team One!"

"Yeah, those losers can't be Team One." Hamilton jerked a thumb towards the Kabras who rolled their eyes simultaneously.

"As you wish." Mr. McIntyre took the five vouchers from the super-family. "The Holts shall be Team Two."

Five million dollars went 'POOF!' as the Holts received the same manila envelope. Reagan bumped Natalie in the shoulder purposely and smirked evilly. It took all the self-control in Natalie's body to refrain her from clawing Reagan's eyes out.

Alistair Oh walked up to the table, his cane clicking on the floor. "I suppose I will partake in this hunt. I will be Team Three."

The Starling triplets strode up to the table, placing three million dollars on the table. "We want in." Sinead announced. Her brothers, Ned and Ted nodded in agreement.

Irina followed the redheads and placed her million dollars on the table as well. "I work alone." She said simply.

"Yo, homies! Wait up!" Jonah ambled up to Mr. McIntyre like a 'gangsta' and slapped his green slip on the table. "All right, yo, gimme the clue."

"If we film this whole thing, it would make great TV. Plus, it would give Jonah great publicity and show his deeper side." Broderick Wizard looked up for a second and then went back to tapping away on his Blackberry.

"Absolutely not," Mr. McIntyre shook his head. "This isn't just a scavenger hunt that kids do for fun at camp and such. This is serious business."

Amy felt sick and wanted nothing more than to crawl under a table. She and Natalie were the only ones who hadn't decided. Six teams were entered in the challenge. The others were standing in the doorway. Aunt Beatrice stood out, glaring daggers at her and Natalie.

The other teams were skilled, smart, strong, or rich. They all seemed so likely to win. Amy was just a normal girl who liked to read. The only thing Natalie was good at was threatening people, but what good was that when the other teams could overpower them?

And how could Amy handle this when she could barely even speak to someone because of her stupid stutter?

Natalie stared at Amy. _Two million dollars..._

_This was the great adventure that Grace told us we would take. We're supposed to take the challenge._

_Wouldn't Aunt Beatrice explode?_

Amy smiled slightly. _That's what I'm counting on._

_That's what I like to hear!_ Natalie cheered.

Together, they walked up to the table and handed Mr. McIntyre their vouchers.

"Count us in." said Amy.

* * *

**Please point out any mistakes; that would be greatly appreciated! My beta, Another Artist is out for the moment and I'm just too dang lazy to look over it. I mean, it's so LONG. My fault, I guess, for making it so long. Anyways, please leave a review as always. Reviews keep me going! :)**

**Sky out.**


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Amy and Natalie felt a lot better once they joined the hunt. And it was all worth it to see Aunt Beatrice's face turn a nice shade of purple.

Now, the only people left in the Great Hall were Mr. McIntyre and the seven teams. Everyone held on tightly to their manila envelopes, prepared for whatever was inside. Many pairs of eyes stared at Mr. McIntyre anxiously and waited for his instruction.

"You may now open your envelopes--"

The sound of seven envelopes being torn reverberated through the hall. Natalie held the envelope upside-down and shook it. A white piece of cardstock fell out. Amy caught the clue and flipped it over. It read:

_**RESOLUTION:**_

_**The fine print to guess,**_

_**Seek out Richard S_____.**_

Natalie shot Amy a look. Was this it? Apparently, everyone else harbored the same thoughts.

"Yo, this ain't cool!" Jonah spoke up loudly. "This can't be da clue!"

"I agree with the punk." Eisenhower bellowed. "It's only ten words! That means--" He paused and started counting on his fingers.

"It means that it cost roughly $500,000 per word since your family gave up five million dollars." Alistair supplied. "Each word, however, only cost me $100,000."

"This is so stupid!" Madison whined. "We need more clues that aren't pieces of paper!"

"It's cardstock, not paper." Sinead sneered.

"Oh, who asked you?" Reagan shot back.

Sinead flipped her hair over her shoulder and went back to studying the clue.

"Richard S--," Ian let out a sigh. "Oh, brother, I truly wonder who that could be." He glanced at Dan and shared a secret smile.

Natalie was about to run up to them and kick them so hard that their legs would be broken. Then, just maybe, they would be eliminated from the competition.

"Excuse me, Mr. McIntyre, but does everyone here have the same clue?" Broderick asked. "My son's contract clearly states that he gets exclusive material and--"

Mr. McIntyre cut him off. "The first clue starts everyone off on the same foot. The thirty-nine clues, in turn, lead to the greatest treasure. This clue is the only one that will be simple."

"Simple?" Alistair mused. "It's hard to imagine the other ones."

"Also, know that there is not only one way to the end of this hunt. There are many different paths to take, or, clues to the clues, if you will." Mr. McIntyre added.

"I'm getting a headache." Hamilton moaned.

"What a shock," Dan said, earning himself a glare.

Suddenly, Irina Spasky folded up the clue, stuck it in her purse and walked straight out of the Great Hall.

"Oh, dear," Alistair sighed. "It seems Irina already has a lead."

Sinead whispered something to her brothers and together, they bolted out of the hall like there was a sale on RAMs and CPUs.

Broderick showed Jonah something on his Blackberry and the rap star nodded.

"Later, my homies." Jonah flashed a pearly white smile and flew out the door with his dad.

Amy counted three teams already gone. She and Natalie were still confused about the clue.

Ian Kabra cleared his throat abruptly, breaking the silence in the room. "Well, brother, are you ready?"

Dan stretched lazily like this was a piece of cake or a biscuit or a crumpet, or...something of the sort. "Yeah, let's go."

Natalie had the sudden urge to stick her leg out and trip the Cobras, but she held back for some reason.

"Team, formation!" Eisenhower Holt barked suddenly.

The Holts sprung out of their chairs and stood like military soldiers. Their pit bull, Arnold, started barking madly.

"Did you figure it out, Dad?" Hamilton asked eagerly.

"Of course not, son!" Eisenhower bellowed. "But everybody else is leaving, so I say we followed them!"

The family marched--literally--out of the Great Hall. There were two teams left, and William McIntyre.

Alistair let out a loud sigh. His eyes gleamed as if they held a secret, but his facial expression seemed serious. It didn't help that he looked like a butler with a hidden agenda. "Perhaps I'll stroll around and think long and hard about this."

Amy and Natalie watched Alistair go. The minute he was out of earshot, the sisters turned to the clue. Natalie was so frustrated she felt like kicking something--or, preferably, someone. To be even more specific, Natalie felt like kicking two boys from England.

"Resolution--what's that supposed to mean?" Amy murmured to herself.

"If your grandmother were here, she would be proud that you accepted the challenge." Mr. McIntyre smiled sadly.

"Let's face the facts," Natalie started. "The Kabras are filthy rich. The Starlings are geniuses. Jonah Wizard is famous. The Holts are human walls. Alistair and Irina are...how do I put this? Worldly. Amy and I are just normal people."

"You and Amy possess special talents that the others don't have. You will discover them soon enough." Mr. McIntyre mentioned. He seemed to be holding back something.

"When is 'soon enough'?" Natalie asked, aggravated.

Mr. McIntyre opened his mouth to speak, but Amy beat him to it. "I-I think I've got it!"

Natalie could've jumped for joy. She turned to Amy with wide eyes. "What is it?"

"I read a book about the 1700's that people used to that!" Amy exclaimed.

"Do what?" Natalie's voice got less excited when Amy said the B word.

"They disguised their names by only using one letter of the alphabet." Amy explained quickly.

"So I could say that D-- has an ugly monkey face and no one would know who I'm talking about?" said Natalie with an evil smirk.

Mr. McIntyre chuckled in the background and Amy rolled her eyes. "I know who you're talking about."

"Oh, I just remembered..." Mr. McIntyre spoke up.

"What?" The Cahill sisters asked simultaneously.

"Grace would have wanted you to know something; a warning."

Natalie's face fell. She was hoping it would be a hint to the clue or maybe even a clue to the clue to the clue.

"All Cahills belong to one of four major branches." Mr. McIntyre started.

Amy became attentive. "Grace told me that!"

Natalie felt slightly jealous. "When did Grace tell you anything?"

"We were talking in the library one afternoon."

"How come she didn't tell me anything about this?" Natalie pouted.

Amy ignored the comment. "There are four branches: Ekaterina, Janus, Tomas, and...uh, Lucian."

"Which one do we belong to?" Natalie asked, interested again.

Amy looked to Grace's advisor for help. "She never told us."

"I'm sorry to say that I cannot help you in that topic." Mr. McIntyre said with a peculiar tone to his voice. Natalie could tell instantly that he was harboring a secret that he obviously didn't want them to know. What was wrong with knowing what branch they belonged to? "However, there is a certain group of people that I must warn you about. They will make this hunt ten times more difficult."

Amy and Natalie shared a worried glance. What more did they have to worry about besides their other relatives?

"Your grandmother told me to repeat this warning to you if you accepted the challenge: Beware the Madrigals."

Amy and Natalie shared another glance; this time, it was a look of pure terror.

"Who are the Ma--"

"I must not say any more about this. I have already bended the rules too much by revealing this very information. Also remember this: Trust no one. This is for your own safety. People in the Cahills are liars, deceivers, and much more as you will discover."

"Where do we start?" Amy exploded. "Everyone else just rushed off like they knew exactly what to do or where to find the answers!"

Mr. McIntyre picked up his briefcase and straightened his suit. "My dear, what do you do when you need to find answers?"

"She reads books." Natalie answered lazily, fiddling with the piece of paper that was the clue.

Amy gasped. "Grace has a library!" She dashed out of the Great Hall with Natalie at her heels running at full speed. Natalie did not particularly enjoy libraries. After all, there was the smell of old books and lackluster titles like: The History of the Pocket Hanky."

But this was the clue hunt; there would have to be exceptions.

* * *

"So what's the plan?" Dan asked for the umpteenth time.

"We find Cousin Irina and strike up a temporary alliance." Ian said patiently, his fingers whizzing over the keys on his European cell phone.

"Why would we want an alliance with her?" Dan asked in disgust. Irina was not someone you wanted to meddle with. She had certain issues involving her family. Plus, she carried poison in her fingernails. At any minute, she could knock you out cold. A few hours later, you'd wake up feeling fuzzy. Or perhaps, you wouldn't wake up at all. People didn't know for sure.

But Dan wasn't completely worried. It wasn't like he didn't carry a tranquilizer gun with him just about everywhere he went. And Ian had...reinforcements.

"Like I said, it's temporary." Ian rolled his eyes slightly, looking ever-so-perfect when doing so. "

"It better be my definition of 'temporary'." Dan muttered.

"Take a left." Ian called to the limo driver. The car made a smooth turn that didn't ruffle anybody's feathers.

"Where are we meeting her?" Dan asked suddenly.

"Copley Plaza Hotel." Ian said absentmindedly. "We're only a few minutes away. Why she expects us to even meet her at that place, I have no clue."

It was Dan's turn to roll his eyes. Ian could have very high standards. Copley Plaza Hotel was extraordinary, but then again, nothing was ever good enough for Ian.

"So are we planning to get rid of Amy and Natalie first?" Dan asked, moving on to an entirely new subject.

"You do catch on fast, brother." Ian smiled mischievously.

"Gee, thanks." Dan retorted sarcastically.

As the car zoomed by, a mysterious man wearing an even more mysterious black trench coat and matching hat went undetected.

* * *

As soon as they hit the soft carpet, Amy dove deep into the heart of the library. Natalie wanted to help, but she didn't know what she could possibly do. Plus, she didn't want to interrupt Amy's thinking process. A globe sat on a nearby table and Natalie spun in once, twice, three times. Then she noticed it, right on the Pacific Ocean: _Grace Cahill, 1964_

"Amy?"

"Yeah?" Came the muffled voice of Amy.

"Why did Grace sign the Pacific Ocean?" Natalie asked.

Amy peeked out from behind a tall bookshelf. "She was a cartographer. That means she made maps and explored. Grace made that globe herself."

"And how do you know that?"

"I listened to her stories."

"Are you suggesting I didn't?"

"Well?"

"...Okay, I see your point." Natalie took a breath. "Where did she explore?"

"Everywhere."

Natalie almost jumped. That definitely wasn't Amy's voice.

Amy peered from behind a different bookshelf timidly.

Alistair Oh was leaning on his cane right next to Natalie, smiling warmly at them. "Your grandmother explored every continent, dear Natalie, and could navigate almost every major city in the world. Grace was an impressive woman and a woman of mystery."

Natalie couldn't believe her grandmother was that cool. If only she was still alive, then maybe she could've asked her to take them to Paris or Milan for a while.

Amy scurried over to Natalie's side. "A-Alistair. W-What do y-you want?"

"Oh, nothing, my dear. I'm merely observing."

"Sounds kinda sketchy." Natalie pursed her lips.

Alistair chuckled.

"There's nothing here, anyway." Amy muttered quietly. "I couldn't find anything about Richard S--and I've already read most of these books."

"Children, I have a suggestion." Alistair interrupted. "We need an alliance."

Natalie quirked an eyebrow. "An alliance? Why would you want one with two kids?"

"You two are definitely intelligent, and have a fresh way of looking at things. I have resources and age. I also did change the world in a small way. You know my fortune comes from inventions, yes? I invented microwavable burritos."

"Inspiring," Natalie mused.

Alistair nodded. "Let's get to the point. I have useful resources. And of course, you won't be permitted to travel around the world without an adult."

Natalie's eyes widened. She never even suspected that this "hunt" would take them very far. How would they be able to fend for themselves in some foreign country in Africa?

"Surely we can work together until the very end. We are family." Alistair reasoned.

"Okay..." Amy nodded slowly.

"Give us some help." Natalie demanded. "Are we looking in the wrong place?"

"It did seem a little off to me that there are so few books in Grace's library." Alistair began.

Amy gasped in realization. "You think Grace had more books in a secret library?"

"This is a very large house. We might as well split up and search for a secret passage or opening." Alistair suggested.

Natalie sighed and stared up at the top of a nearby bookshelf. Her breath caught in her throat. A crest was hanging just above the bookshelf on the wall that appeared at various locations all over the house. A fancy C was surrounded by a dragon, a bear, a wolf, and a pair of snakes wrapped around a sword. It looked oddly familiar, but she just noticed the letters carved in the middle of each picture--E, T, J, L.

Without hesitation, Natalie scrambled up the bookshelf, knocking down encyclopedia, dictionaries, biographies, and other heavy books.

"Natalie, get DOWN from there!" Amy screamed. "You could hurt yourself!"

Natalie knew she wouldn't hurt herself; she was thirty times more athletic than half of the football team at their school. When she reached the top of the bookshelf, she stretched her arm and reached the crest. "Amy, what are the four branches again?"

"Ekaterina, Tomas, Janus, and Lucian, but what are you doing?" Amy cried.

Natalie pressed each letter in that order. E, T, J, L. As she pushed the L, the whole shelf swung outward abruptly. Natalie jumped off the bookshelf and landed on the ground with not a hair out of place.

"Nice..." Amy murmured, mesmerized by the magical bookshelf.

A dark stairwell leading down to who-knows-where appeared in place of the bookshelf.

"A secret passage to Grace's hidden library." Alistair looked at Natalie. "I'm impressed."

Natalie shrugged like it was nothing, but felt a tiny bit proud of her finding.

"It might be dangerous." Amy said.

"Good point." Natalie nodded. "Why don't you go first?"

* * *

***PLEASE READ! IMPORTANT INFORMATION AHEAD!**

**Here it is, finally! After numerous school projects, the stomach flu, a state-wide writing competition, and other crap, I found time to put this little chapter up! Well, it isn't that little, but you get the point.**

**If you think you know EVERYTHING that's going to happen just because you read the first book twelve times and memorized each page, well I'm sorry to say that you'll be completely lost. The beginning will be similar, but when they get to Paris, things will be...**

**Different.**

**MUAHAHAAHAHA! -cough- Anyways, review if you wanna...but review and I will tell you all that I know about the final 39 Clues book because I MET MARGARET PETERSON HADDIX, THE AUTHOR OF THE 10TH BOOK! Suckerrrs!**

**"Why do hobos hate every living thing?"  
**

**-Sky  
**


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

It was greater than the Great Hall; that was confirmed immediately.

Amy imagined a small, private library that was big enough for only about two people, at most. What she got was a library that stretched on and on and seemed lengthy enough to challenge the Great Wall.

The shelves were dark wood and most of the books seemed old and valuable. Persian carpet covered the floor and tan and brown reading chairs were evenly spaced out in the library. A Swarovski chandelier hung from the vaulted ceiling-which was basically the floor since they were underground-to provide more than enough light.

"It's amazing!" Amy breathed.

"Hurrah for books!" Natalie cheered as unenthusiastically as possible once she reached the carpeting.

Alistair tentatively picked up a red portfolio from the shelves. "This is Caesar's campaign in Gaul-modern-day France-copied on Vellum. It's handwritten by a scribe from circa 1500."

Natalie plopped down on a reading chair. She was ready to take a power nap into the next century.

"These are all alphabetical by author." Amy observed. "We need to find the S section!"

Natalie rose slowly and joined Amy to help. The S section didn't prove to be much help at all. There were ten shelves packed with Shakespeare to Suleiman I.

"Saladin!" Amy cried suddenly. The siblings ran over to a box sitting on the middle of an empty shelf.

The Persian Mau blinked his green eyes. _"Mrrp?"_

"What are you doing down here?" Natalie asked, holding back a sneeze.

Saladin closed his eyes contentedly. It was like a part of Grace was still alive.

"Saladin, what are you sitting on?" Amy asked.

Natalie lifted him to the floor. "_Achoo_!"

The box had the initials GC engraved in pure gold on the mahogany lid.

"Grace's jewelry box!" Amy declared, recognizing the familiar box.

Natalie opened it up excitedly. Amy stared at the things inside: pearls, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires-this was all worth thousands and thousands of dollars.

Amy felt a pang of sadness. She was standing in Grace's library, looking at Grace's jewelry box and stroking Grace's cat. She missed her so much and now everything reminded Amy of her.

"What's this?" Natalie asked, pulling a necklace out of the bottom.

Alistair peered over at the kids. "If memory recalls, that was Grace's favorite necklace."

Amy took the necklace out of Natalie hands. Alistair was right. Grace always wore the necklace to parties, to travel, to sleep, to eat lunch with Amy and Natalie, and everywhere else. Twelve squares of jade, all the exact same size, with a green dragon medallion in the center; it had been Grace's good-luck charm.

"Hey!" Natalie called from somewhere. "Come over here!"

Amy and Alistair turned a corner and found Natalie staring at giant map of the world covered in five different colored pushpins: red, blue, yellow, green, and white. Every major city had at least one. Some areas were more heavily populated with certain colors than others, while other areas were covered with all five colors together.

"What do these mean?" Natalie pondered out loud.

"I think they're markers." Amy said.

"Markers for what? The best shopping places in the world?" Natalie suggested.

Amy rolled her eyes. "Of course not. Maybe they tell something about our family." she turned around and looked at Alistair.

Alistair shrugged. "I'm sorry, but I do not know. I am most curious, though." Natalie got the feeling he was hiding something as usual.

"Well, Europe and the East Coast have all five colors. You can't even see the cities underneath them." Natalie pointed out.

If the pins represented the Cahills, then it looked like the family started in Europe and spread across the whole world, heavily colonizing North America. Amy thought: _Europe. Colonies. North America._ Richard S-made his way back into Amy's mind to remind her why she was here in the first place. Was he from the eighteenth century? Did he write resolutions?

As if a light bulb had suddenly gone off in her head, Amy turned and darted down the maze of shelves.

"Amy, where are you going?" Natalie shouted.

* * *

Ian saw her almost instantly.

They were impossible to miss, what with their matching red hair, bright green eyes, and freckles. Dan pointed out that they also coordinated outfits, which Ian thought was a good point. It was absolutely absurd that they did that. If Ned and Ted wanted to be known as two different people, they didn't act like it.

"Ian," Sinead smiled almost sweetly. "Dan," Her voice turned meaner for a nanosecond. Sinead paused for a second then continued. "You two attract too much attention, you know."

"What are you talking about?" Dan asked, flipping through a random magazine, unbeknownst to a group of teenage girls giggling behind him.

"We need to talk." said Ian.

"Oh, of course." Sinead smiled again.

"I believe we are in need of an alliance." Ian replied smoothly, oblivious to the fact that Sinead was flirting.

"Why am I not surprised?" Ned sighed, combing his hair.

Dan tried to hold in his laughter, but found it very hard.

"What's so funny, Kabra?" Ted demanded.

"Nothing, Ned."

"I'm Ted. He's Ned." Ted corrected, jerking a thumb towards his twin brother.

"And I'm Frank." Dan rolled his eyes, annoyed.

"Anyways," Sinead continued. "How can we be so sure that this alliance is...safe? I'm not an idiot, Ian."

Ian knew that. Sinead and her brothers were Ekaterinas. It seemed that persuading them to team up would be harder than he imagined.

"Well, we've both come to the same conclusion, right?" Dan asked.

"Duh." Ted and Ned said in unison with a roll of their eyes. "The second clue isn't in Boston."

Ian and Dan both nodded.

"Our parents have chartered us a private jet. We will leave in an hour." Ian explained. This clue hunt was almost too easy. Ian could see the world in his hands-and Dan's too, but mostly his. Dan could possibly cause World War III, and that would not be pretty.

"So, where are you going?" Sinead asked.

Dan opened his mouth to answer, but Ian silenced him with a look.

_Quiet, Dan. Do not give away anything._

_I wasn't gonna!_

_Oh, really?_

_Yes, really. Now please resume your talking. I'm about to die of boredom._

"You know the clue is about Benjamin Franklin." Ian said, leaning forward.

"Yes."

"Then you know where we're going and what we're after." Dan finished.

"What part do we play in this?" asked Ted.

"We need you guys to set a trap, since you're all smart and stuff." Dan said.

"We're flattered, but why can't you do it yourselves?" Sinead asked, bored.

"They'll be expecting us." Ian said. His voice trailed off and it seemed he was thinking of the real reason why he wanted the Starlings to set the trap.

"Are you sure there isn't another reason?" Sinead asked with a smirk.

Ian raised an eyebrow. Could Sinead read minds? It all seemed far-fetched, but she was a supergenius after all.

"What are you yammering about now?" Dan asked, irritated. He stood up. "We're done here, right? If we get rid of them, then our competition is gone."

"What about the Madrigals?" Ned asked quietly.

"We don't have time to be worrying about them." Ian said quickly.

Just then, a thin man wearing a black trench coat with a black hat over his eyes entered, looking both ways.

"Yeah, let's go now." Dan's eyes widened.

Ted and Ned scrambled up to leave through the back door. Ian and Dan followed close behind. Sinead followed the Kabras even closer behind. Once they were outside, they split.

Ted and Ned walked out of sight. Sinead stayed a little longer and whispered in Ian's ear. "I know about your crush for her. Let's just say that you should forget about it, or there will be dastardly consequences."

"Ian, let's go!" Dan waved his arm frantically, getting inside the car.

Ian turned to respond to Sinead, but she was already gone.

* * *

She got to the Fs in a matter of few seconds and found it: a tiny book with the cover hanging off the side. It had a red-and-white woodblock print of Colonial farmers. The title was almost completely faded out of existence, but she could make out: POOR RICHARD'S ALMANACK, For the Year 1739, by Richard Saunders.

"Richard Saunders, of course!" Alistair praised. "Very good, my dear."

"Wait, if this was written by Richard Saunders, why is under F?" Natalie questioned.

"Richard Saunders was a pseudonym," Alistair explained.

"Isn't that a fake name?" Natalie asked.

"Yes, it is," the Korean man nodded.

"This book was written by Benjamin Franklin. I did a report on him in sixth grade." Amy opened the book. Some of the black text was beginning to fade away. There were charts, illustrations, and numbers to help you understand it. "This is the most famous thing he ever published. Poor Richard was a character Franklin created. He had lots of pseudonyms. When he wrote, he pretended like he was many different people."

"Fascinating," Natalie sighed.

"And this almanac has facts for farmers. It's a big book with all these useful tips, articles, and statistics. There were lots of quotations Franklin put, like 'Early to bed, early to rise.'" Amy continued.

"I'm intrigued, Amy, I really am."

"And 'A rolling stone gathers no moss.'"

"You know, I didn't know that stones could gather moss in the first place."

Amy sighed. "Natalie, the point is that he got very famous for this. And he also made tons of money."

"So if I write a book with tips on how to help farmers, I would get lots of money?" Natalie asked, starting to get interested.

"No."

"Well, thank you for crushing my dreams."

"Children, let's focus." Alistair clapped his hands. "How can this book aid us in finding the clue? And what does _RESOLUTION_ mean?"

"Well, Franklin used to write resolutions for himself." Amy started. "His resolutions weren't goals, but they were rules he wanted to follow to improve as a person." She flipped open to a random page and studied the notes written in the margins.

Then something caught her eye: One line of elegant handwriting in purple ink. _Follow, Franklin. Maze of Bones._

Amy thought her heart stopped for a second.

"Mom wrote in here!" she exclaimed, holding up the book.

"What?" Natalie's eyes widened and she tried to grab the book out of Amy's hands.

"May I?" Alistair held out a hand.

Amy was hesitant for a moment. "Alright...but I want it right back!"

"I didn't even get to see it yet!" Natalie protested.

Alistair held the book close to his face and scrutinized a few pages. "This book seems to have been passed down for several generations. These notes are in Grace's hands. And here, my father, Gordon Oh's handwriting. This is James Cahill, Grace's father."

"Why was Mom writing about Benjamin Franklin?" Natalie persisted.

Alistair's eyes didn't leave the book. "Franklin was a Cahill. He was an inventor like me. Most of the books in this library were written by members of our family. Half of these authors probably didn't even know they were Cahills."

Amy couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was it possible that all of these famous people were related to her? She thought that her family consisted of regular people-she wasn't counting the Kabras or Jonah Wizard in this equation—with regular jobs, regular homes, and regular lives. Amy began to realize just how powerful the Cahills were.

How did her mom know about the first clue before the hunt even started? And what did her mom mean by the Maze of Bones? Was it a code for something, or was it an actual thing?

There were just too many questions that would never be answered.

"I think if we read through these notes, we'll-"

Amy's whole body froze. "Wait, do you guys smell smoke?"

Alistair closed the book and sniffed the air. Natalie looked around the room.

Amy saw it first. White smoke was forming a thick layer across the ceiling. It was starting to descend towards them.

"Fire! To the stairs, children!" Alistair commanded.

Amy stood, still frozen. Fires brought back bad memories. Memories that she didn't need to be reminded of.

"Amy, snap out of it!" Natalie shook her sister.

"Huh?" Amy blinked. "Saladin...we have to find him!" She sprinted into action with Natalie on her heels.

"We must get out quickly! We don't have much time!" Alistair shouted.

Amy coughed, and lifted up her shirt to cover her mouth. Saladin disappeared from his spot. Natalie tugged on Amy's arm and pointed to the stairs. They ran up the steps. Natalie shoved her shoulder against the bookshelf/door.

It was stuck.

"Is there a lever of some sort?" Alistair asked, coughing and hacking.

The girls looked confused. Neither of them knew anything about mechanical stuff. All three felt around for a lever, switch, or button. Nothing.

The smoke was getting thicker as they all began having coughing fits. Amy pushed on the wall. "The fire's coming from the other side! If we open it-"

"We don't have a choice!" Natalie shrieked.

Amy dragged Natalie down the stairs. The smoke was so close to them that they could barely see each other. "Get down low!"

The two sisters began crawling through the secret library, looking for some sort of exit. Uncle Alistair mysteriously disappeared, Natalie observed.

Amy sat down at a table and clutched Grace's jewelry box in her hands. She couldn't leave it behind, no matter what.

The heat only got worse. They were getting baked. Natalie crawled with amazing super speed ahead of Amy in pursuit of an exit. Amy struggled to keep up because she wasn't used to doing things in a stupid dress.

Amy thought for a second. If she designed this room, she wouldn't only make one exit. Amy collapsed to the floor, running out of breaths. The oriental carpet...the dragons were all flying the same way. It was a reckless thing to do, but this was a dire situation.

"Natalie, follow me!" Amy managed to sputter out.

Natalie turned and crawled alongside Amy. She noticed that part of Natalie's dress had burned off. Amy knew not to mention it to Natalie or it'd slow them down even more. The dragons led them to a space between two bookshelves that weren't on fire. There was a metal air grate in the space. Natalie sat on the ground but crouched down. She used her right foot to kick it, making it come loose. Amy tossed it into the fire.

"Go, go!"

"_Mrrp_," Amy realized with a start that Natalie was carrying Saladin and hadn't sneezed once. Did the fire manage to mess up her allergies?

Natalie crawled with such incredible speed that Amy was shocked for a second. She managed to regain her senses and crawled after Natalie.

They kept going up, up, up. Saladin kept making noises and clawing Natalie, but she kept going. The smoke was following them through the shaft and began thickening around them. Amy only hoped that the way out was coming up soon.

"Dead end," Natalie shouted, coughing.

"Kick it!" Amy commanded.

"Uh, I don't think so. It's _stone_, Amy." Natalie explained. Even though Amy couldn't see her face, she could tell that she was trying to say, "I am Natalie and there is no way I'm putting my foot at risk."

Amy squeezed in the small space next to Natalie and pushed on the stone. "Help," she pleaded.

Natalie put her hands on the cool stone and pushed.

Miraculously, the stone fell out. The sunlight blinded them. They stumbled out of the hole into the daylight. Saladin scurried off under a tree with a: _Mrrrrp_!

Amy lifted her head up and saw that they were in the cemetery. The stone they pushed aside had been someone's tombstone.

"Natalie, are you okay?" Amy shook her sister's arm lightly.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Natalie coughed and then moaned. "My dress!"

Amy rolled her eyes. It was about time she realized.

Up the hill, past the cemetery stood Grace's mansion...or what was left of it.

Because of the fire, the house had collapsed. Windows were shattered, the roof had caved in on the whole structure, and the main entrance with its magnificent archway and family crest was nothing but a pile of bricks and stone. Seeing the house destroyed made Amy's heart drop.

"Amy...Are _you_ okay?" Natalie asked carefully, turning her body so she was facing away from the house. She had a hard, outer shell, but even the cruelest people didn't want to see their favorite place being broken down.

"N-Natalie, look!"

Natalie turned. "What?"

Amy shook slightly as Natalie's eyes widened. Hidden quite well in the trees was a man wearing all black, standing as still as a statue. He was holding binoculars in his hand. Amy shivered as a cool breeze passed by, whipping their hair in their faces.

He was watching _them_.

* * *

**Thoughts? Comments? Criticism? I don't care; tell me in a review! IMPORTANT QUESTION!: Do you think everyone is in character? Be honest. Trust me, you won't hurt my feelings...much. But seriously, just tell me.**

**Better late than never is my motto. Well, I made up for it because this is a very long chapter. It's the second longest. Be happy! :)**

**Let's see...oh, and if there are any grammar mistakes, spelling mistakes, sentences that make absolutely no sense mistakes, it's because this chapter is unbetaed. I think Another Artist has enough on her plate already, so I'm giving her a break. Hopefully she can beta the next one though.**

**When Amy and Dan-sorry, Natalie-get to Paris, there will be changes. The beginning has to be the same or it will just be plain nonsense.**

**Tomorrow is my last day of school and it's a half-day! That means more updates...and more stories. I have lots of things in-the-making right now.**

**Thanks for everyone who puts this story on story alert or favorites it. It means a lot! (Reviews mean a lot, too. I like getting them. CoughCough.)**

**-Sky  
**


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Alistair Oh was covered in soot from head to toe and looked absolutely terrible.

He managed to make it to his car and start it up. He placed the book in the passenger seat and pulled out of the driveway. He sped away from the burning mansion, going way past the speed limit.

He did it. He got the book with all of the notes. The _Poor Richard's Almanack_ was his. Alistair Oh felt a little guilty when he saw Amy and Natalie's faces. The poor kids. The book was their only lead in the hunt and now it was gone.

Alistair knew the kids would never trust him again. He could live with that.

* * *

It was only a matter of time before the authorities arrived on the scene.

Amy and Natalie were riding in the back of a police car. It was quiet. An officer had tried questioning them earlier, but Amy was too heartbroken to speak while Natalie just looked downright murderous. Even adults knew when to stay away from her.

The police detectives said that it could not have been an accident because it spread too quickly. Natalie didn't even try to tell them about Alistair Oh tricking them, or the underground library, or the man in black.

"Who was that man, anyway?" Amy whispered.

Natalie shrugged. "It couldn't have been Alistair."

"Mr. Holt?" Amy guessed.

"No way," Natalie snorted. "He couldn't have pulled that off. Besides, didn't he and his family already leave like, hours ago?"

"True..." Amy murmured.

"I got it!" Natalie snapped her fingers. "It was the Kabras!"

Amy threw Natalie a look that said, "You're kidding me, right?"

"I bet Daniel was standing on Ian's shoulders. Maybe they even stuffed the coat with a bunch of old newspapers to look bigger." Natalie personally liked this idea because it would be the perfect blackmail. She knew both Ian and Dan's passwords for their CliqueMe accounts. They wouldn't mess with her again after the pictures went up.

"Natalie, we both know that as hilarious as that sounds, they weren't there." Amy sighed. What was with her sister and the Kabras anyway? Sure, Dan could be immature and irritating. And Ian was...Amy didn't want to finish that sentence.

"Well, let's just be more careful from now on. No more involvement with senior citizens." Natalie vowed.

"We'll have to be more careful about everybody." Amy pointed out. "Anyway, Mom was involved in the clue hunt!"

"The contest just started today. Mom died." Natalie replied stiffly. "It's impossible."

"It was her writing. We just have to figure out what she meant by _Follow Franklin, first clue. Maze of Bones_." Amy insisted.

Natalie turned and looked out the window. Why did Amy have to know so much about their parents? She could even recognize their _handwriting_, while Natalie barely even remembered what color her Mom's eyes were.

"But what can we do if we don't have the book?" Natalie asked.

"First, we'll need an adult. We'll need one to travel."

"Travel?" Natalie's eyes lit up like a child on Christmas.

Amy leaned closer to Natalie. "We both know that Aunt Beatrice is going to call Social Services soon since we turned down the money. We need to get home, get our stuff, and get out. If anyone finds out we've been disowned, we'll be taken to a foster home. How would we find the clues then?"

Natalie recoiled at the thought of living in a foster home. She thought living with Aunt Beatrice was bad. But a foster home? Dozens of kids who she didn't even know would be sharing a room with her. Natalie shuddered.

"We need to find someone who'll let us do what we want. They can't be suspicious of us, and they'll have to be old enough to look like a responsible guardian." Amy explained. "I can't think of any Cahills like that."

"_Mrrp_," Saladin pawed at Natalie.

"Achoo!" Natalie sniffed and said in a nasal voice, "I think I know someone."

* * *

"Alright kids, here's your stop." A gruff voice from the front called out.

Natalie got out first, followed by Amy. The police car then sped away from the brownstone apartment complex.

"So why are we standing in front of Nellie's apartment?" Amy asked. She peered at Beatrice's apartment a few doors down. "Aunt Beatrice could be back at any minute. It's a good thing she's a slow driver." Amy muttered.

"Alistair didn't say our chaperone had to be a Cahill." Natalie looked at one of the doors.

Amy smiled slightly, understanding the plan. She gripped Grace's jewelry box tighter as Natalie knocked on a door.

No answer.

Natalie put her ear to the door. She heard the faint sound of Nellie's heavy metal music. Natalie turned the doorknob and the door swung open. It was unlocked. Typical.

Their au pair, Nellie Gomez was sitting on the couch. Her eyes were closed and she was bobbing her head vigorously to the music while shoveling ice cream into her mouth. It was a normal day for her.

"NELLIE!" Natalie screamed at the top of her lungs.

Nellie looked up. Her eyes widened when she saw the condition her au pairees were in. She took out her earbuds and placed her very special iPod on the coffee table.

"What happened to you guys?"

"We were at Grace's funeral." Natalie stated simply.

Nellie shook her head. "Oh, sure. What did your crazy family do to you? Burn you to the ground?"

"You could say that..." Natalie said under her breath.

"Nellie, we need to ask you something." Amy started.

"Shoot."

"Is that French Vanilla?" Natalie pointed to the carton in Nellie's hand.

"Maybe," Nellie scooped up some ice cream and popped it into her mouth.

"That was mine!" Natalie whined.

"So what do we need to talk about, kiddo?" Nellie blinked and turned to Amy.

Today, she was wearing dark purple eye shadow with glitter. She was wearing a lot of mascara and had a new silver snake nose ring. Natalie thought of Ian and Dan being trapped in Nellie's nose and giggled.

"We've got a deal for you. It's a babysitting...thing." Amy took a deep breath. "And it pays a lot of money."

Nellie set the ice cream down and stood up, looking at Amy eagerly, which was rare. Nellie only acted eager when it came to money, food, or hot guys.

"Talk." Nellie commanded.

Natalie looked over at Amy and thought she might crack at any moment, but she seemed to be handling herself decently.

"It's like, a trip. You would be our chaperone." Amy said carefully.

Nellie raised an eyebrow. "Why didn't your aunt tell me about this?"

"She passed out at the funeral." Natalie lied.

Amy glared at Natalie.

"Passed out?" Nellie repeated slowly.

Natalie nodded. "These ambulances came to get her. I guess she's getting old. She'll be in the hospital for a while, though. So we figured that we should go on a trip. Uncle Alistair said that we would need an adult, so we came to you."

"It's like a scavenger hunt." Amy added. "It's a family tradition. We visit places all over the world and have fun."

"Yeah, we don't even know where to start. But the scavenger hunt could take us anywhere." Natalie finished.

Nellie's eyes gleamed. "For free?"

Amy and Natalie nodded in sync.

"It could take a while, but we would travel to exotic places where there's lots of...foreign food and foreign guys." Amy said.

Nellie tapped her chin with a finger and said, "That sounds interesting." which translated to, "Exotic food plus exotic guys equals let's go!"

"We would need you to buy the airline tickets and to check into our hotel. You would have a lot of time on your own to sightsee and eat and meet...guys." Natalie concluded.

Nellie nodded, agreeing with the plan. "But how are you going to pay for this?"

Amy revealed the jewelry box behind her back and dumped the contents on the coffee table. Pearls, diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, and rubies.

Nellie's jaw dropped. "Did you guys steal that?"

"No!" Amy shook her head. "It's from our grandmother. She wanted us to take the trip so she gave us this."

Natalie was impressed. Who knew that stuttering, shy Amy Cahill could lie?

Nellie stared for a long time. Then, she picked up her cell phone and dialed.

Natalie bit her lip. Was she calling Social Services? She imagined getting dumped in a foster home with a bunch of screaming babies pulling at her luscious hair.

"Hola, Papa." Nellie said into her phone.

Natalie looked at Amy and they both smiled.

_I think the plan worked!_

_Yes, Captain Obvious. I'm surprised at how well you lied._

_Is that a compliment?_

_Sure, sister._

"Yeah, it's for the Cahills. It pays a lot of money." Nellie nodded. "Uh, we're traveling...across the world."

Nellie pulled the phone away from her ear while her dad yelled on the other line in rapid Spanish. "Just a few months-" More yelling. "I think I can take more hours in the spring. Well, if you let me go to cooking school instead of community college, we wouldn't have this problem."

It was silent for a few seconds. Then more Spanish came.

"_Que, Papa?_ I'm going through a tunnel. You're breaking up. I'll call you when I'm out. _Te amo_, BYE!" Nellie yelled, ending the call.

Natalie and Amy looked at their au pair expectantly.

"He's totally cool with it." Nellie grinned. "I'm in!"

* * *

"How can I just pack one bag of clothes?" Natalie muttered to herself. She looked around her cramped room and pondered on the ways to fit her whole closet in one pink backpack.

Natalie opened her closet door and flipped through the shirts like they were pages in a fashion magazine. She would have to take the purple silk ruffle shirt her rich friend Alana bought for her last Christmas. And she had to take her custom-made jacket. It was the first thing she made herself. Natalie knew she had to take a pair of sneakers, but she so desperately wanted to bring her brown suede boots.

Natalie sighed and instead began packing the essentials. A passport, toiletries, girl needs, a hairbrush, a backup hairbrush, lotions and creams, and her cell phone. Then she picked up her sleek black laptop that Grace so _graciously_ gave her. It would help them, for sure.

Now her backpack only had room for about five shirts, six, if she figured out how to move everything around so more stuff would fit. Of course, she couldn't forget about pants either. Natalie moved back over to her closet and pulled out the purple shirt, her favorite jacket, a white tank top, a pink T-shirt, a black T-shirt, a gold T-shirt, and a blue dress. She picked out two pairs of jeans, a white skirt, and some pajama pants.

She heaved the large bundle over to her backpack and began folding each article of clothing neatly. Then, after moving the things around, everything fit inside perfectly. Natalie smiled, victorious. She had solved yet another puzzle.

Natalie was almost done. She went into the back of her closet and picked up a photo. It was torn and burned around the edges. It was the only picture that survived the fire. She had the half with her dad, Arthur. He was standing in a big room with Mexican decorations. He was wearing a sombrero that covered his eyes. Natalie knew that they traveled frequently. She guessed they went to Mexico. Arthur was tall and tan with salt-and-pepper hair. He was smiling to the right. Natalie figured out a while ago that the other half of the picture had Hope, her mom.

Natalie sighed, stuffing the picture at the bottom of her backpack. Arthur and Hope were her parents. Amy looked like Hope. Natalie didn't look like Hope or Arthur. Where did she get her long, silky black hair from? Why was her skin tone so much darker than Amy's? Was she adopted? No, that couldn't be it. Natalie shook her head slightly and zipped up her bag.

She wanted answers. She wanted to know what Grace didn't tell them. She wanted to know what branch she was in. She wanted to know who killed her parents, if they _were_ her parents.

"Hey, Natalie," Amy stood in the doorway. "You almost done?"

Natalie nodded. "I'm done."

Amy had taken a shower and changed back into comfortable clothes-a green T-shirt and some jeans. She looked at Natalie's slightly bulgy backpack and smiled sympathetically. "Do you wanna take an extra backpack? Or maybe a purse or something?"

Natalie looked longingly at her closet. "No. I don't need those clothes anymore." She knew she wouldn't be coming back. "Amy, how much money will we get for the jewelry?"

Amy fingered Grace's jade necklace. "Um...I'm not sure..."

Natalie knew about money. The jade necklace was probably the most expensive thing in the box. If Amy kept it, they wouldn't get as much. "They'll only pay us a few thousand, which is a small fraction of what the jewelry is worth."

Amy sighed. "We'll need transportation for three people. And we'll need to stay in a hotel...and food."

Natalie closed her eyes tightly and said very quickly. "I'm selling my clothes."

Amy's mouth dropped open. "What? Natalie-"

"Alana bought me a lot of stuff that's worth a lot. I know a place where I can sell my clothes for a good price. If I sell my dresses too, then we'll get around five thousand." Natalie kept her eyes shut tight.

Amy's eyes were wide with shock. Natalie giving up clothes was like a cat barking. It was impossible. "Natalie, your clothes are like your life! Are you sure about this?"

For whatever unfathomable reason, Natalie was sure. She strangely wanted the clues more than her clothes. She wanted to find the thirty-nine clues and uncover the secret. She would also make her parents proud. Natalie didn't care if they were her parents or not; she would make them proud.

"I'm...sure." Natalie opened her eyes.

At that moment, Amy did something that Natalie would never forget. She hugged her.

"Agh, Amy, stop! You're ruining my dress!" Natalie wriggled out of her grip. "I need to go take a shower and then wash my face and then find some way to clean up this dress-"

"Make it fast, like fifteen minutes. We need to book a hotel in town for tonight. Then tomorrow...we'll start the hunt for real." Amy said.

Natalie picked up her bag and walked down the hallway with Amy following behind. "So what exactly are you on about now?"

"Mom said to follow Franklin. Benjamin Franklin started as a printer here in Boston."

"So we're just going to look around town?" Natalie asked, entering the bathroom.

Amy stood in the doorway. "We're going to follow his footsteps, like where he went next in his life. When he was seventeen, he ran away and started his own printing press in Philadelphia."

"We'll need Nellie to book three train tickets." Natalie turned on the sink faucet.

"Exactly," Amy nodded.

"When we get there, what are we going to look for?"

"I'm guessing...a secret that could get us killed."

"Yes, because those are so easy to find." Natalie sighed.

* * *

**Here it is. Sorry for the, er, delay. I'm surprisingly busy in the summer and I couldn't find time to get on my computer to put up this chapter. Like always, REVIEW! I know that there are a lot of people who put this story on story alert and stuff but never reviewed. You heartless people... *sobs in a corner* Anyways, if you read this author's note, thne put the word "sushi" in your review somewhere. :) Muchas gracias!**

**-Sky  
**


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Dan stared at his torn half of the picture.

It seemed that everything was lost that night, when Isabel set the house on fire. One thing survived: one photo.

Isabel had instructed him to burn it, but Dan never had the heart to. It was strange. The photo was torn down the middle. He only had a half.

The woman in the photo had reddish-brown hair. Her face was covered by a large sunhat. She looked truly happy. Dan had never seen people actually happy. Sure, his dad was happy when the Lucians stole a clue from the Tomas. And his mom was happy when she went on her shopping sprees. Dan Kabra had never seen true happiness.

Suddenly, Dan heard footsteps approaching. He stuffed the picture into his front pants pocket and tried to look casual.

"What were you just doing?" Ian asked, a hint of suspicion entering his voice.

"Does it look like I was doing anything?" Dan asked casually.

"I suppose not." Ian sighed and sat in the seat next to his little brother. "We'll be in Paris by midnight."

Dan nodded, staring out the windows.

* * *

Nellie walked out of the rental car place, frowning. She was holding a thick brown envelope. Amy and Natalie looked at each other.

_This can't be good._

"What is that?" Natalie asked.

"It's for you guys, apparently." Nellie waved the envelope in the air. "Somebody left it at the counter this morning. The dude there gave it to me."

"That can't be!" Amy shook her head. "No one could've possibly known we'd be here."

But as she was saying it, a chill ran down her spine. Nellie had booked the train tickets and the rental car online last night from their hotel, using her last name. Could someone have tracked them down so fast?

"What does the envelope say?" Natalie asked curiously.

" 'For A. & N. Cahill,' And it's from 'W. McIntyre,'" Nellie read carefully.

"Mr. McIntyre!" Amy reached for the package.

"Wait!" Natalie grabbed Amy's arm. "It could be a trap."

Amy pulled her arm back and frowned. "Are you sure?"

Natalie nodded firmly. "It could be from the Kabras. It might even be a bomb."

"Hold up," Nellie put a hand up. "Why would somebody send two kids a bomb? And who's this McIntyre dude?"

Natalie pushed the package back towards Nellie. "Nellie should open it."

"Uh, pass!" Nellie said.

"You're our au pair!" Natalie insisted. "You're supposed to do this kind of stuff."

"I drive. Not defuse explosives," Nellie held out the package.

Amy heaved a sigh and took the package carefully. She stepped into the parking lot, turned the flap of the envelope away from Nellie and Natalie, and peeled it open ever so slowly.

She expected something to happen. But nothing did. There was a metal cylinder inside that was like a flashlight, except the light was a strip of purple glass running down one of the sides. A note was attached in sloppy handwriting, like the sender had been in a hurry.

_Meet me at Independence Hall_

_this evening at eight, but only_

_if you find the information._

_-W.M._

_(P.S. Thank you for calling the ambulance.)_

"What information?" Natalie asked over Amy's shoulder.

"The next clue?" Amy suggested.

"What clue?" Nellie demanded, walking over.

"Nothing," Natalie and Amy responded.

Nellie blew a piece of black and blonde hair out of her eyes. "Whatever, kiddos. Stay. I'll bring the car around."

She left them standing in the middle of the parking lot with their bags and Saladin in a cat carrier. Saladin hadn't been exactly excited with the carrier. But Amy hadn't had the heart to leave him behind. Natalie argued that she was allergic to that furball, but Amy pulled the "Grace" card and Natalie reluctantly let the car join their team.

"_Mrrp?_" Saladin asked.

Amy squatted down and scratched him behind his ears through the bars. "Natalie, maybe we shouldn't meet with Mr. McIntyre. He's the one who told us to trust no one."

"The note was signed by him," Natalie inspected her nails.

"It could be a set-up."

"Then we definitely have to go."

Amy curled a piece of hair around her finger. She hated when Natalie liked to jump head-first into dangerous situations. "If we're going, we'll need to find that information."

"You'll know where to look. You're smart," Natalie didn't meet Amy's eyes.

Sure. Amy was totally confident that they would find one clue in a big city. Before they'd left Boston, she spent some money on books about Benjamin Franklin and Philadelphia from her friends at the used bookshop. She spent the entire trip reading, but she wasn't sure she could do this...

"I have a few ideas," Amy admitted. "But I'm not sure where we're going in the long run. Have you even thought about what this ultimate treasure is?

"Something worth selling all of my clothes," Natalie muttered despondently. "At least it better be..."

"I mean, what could make someone the most powerful Cahill in history? And why are there thirty-nine clues?"

Natalie shrugged. "Thirty-nine is pretty important. It's the code for international direct-dialed phone calls to Italy. It's also the number of the French department Jura. And it's the sum of five prime numbers in a row-3, 5, 7, 11, 13."

Amy stared at her sister. "How in the world do you know all of that?"

Natalie blinked. "I guess I just do."

Amy shook her head slightly. You would think that Natalie was an airhead. She was obsessed with clothes (and herself) most of the time. Then she would say something like-something about direct-dialed calls to Italy or a French department. Where did she even learn this stuff? The only people who knew that stuff were children of diplomats or rich kids.

Ian Kabra's face flashed into her mind.

_Stop it, Amy! Why are you thinking about him? Stay focused._

"Why are you blushing?" Natalie asked suspiciously.

"It's really...hot." Amy put her hands to her cheeks to cool them down.

The au pair stared at Amy for a while, then sighed. "Anyway, what _is_ that thing exactly?" Natalie pointed to the metal cylinder in Amy's hand.

Amy switched the cylinder on and the light glowed purple. "I don't know, but I have a feeling we'd better figure it out before eight o' clock."

* * *

Amy hated cars. She hated them almost as much as she hated crowds. She promised herself that when she grew up, she would live somewhere where she would never have to drive. New York, maybe? Or Venice?

The fear started when Amy first got in a car with Nellie a few years ago. In short, it wasn't pretty.

Nellie rented a Toyota hybrid. She said it was more environmental, which both girls were okay with, but it cost two hundred and fifty-eight dollars a day, and the way Nellie zoomed around corners and gunned the gas wasn't exactly "green." They were on Interstate 95, heading into downtown Philadelphia, when Amy happened to look behind them. She wasn't sure why she did it. A tingling sensation on her neck told her to. It was like they were being watched. Amy didn't know it, but she was.

"We're being followed!" Amy exclaimed.

"Seriously?" Natalie turned around to look.

"Five cars back," Amy said. "Black Mercedes. It's the Starlings!"

"A Starbucks, really?" Nellie grinned excitedly. "Where? Man, I so need a cappuccino right about now."

"_Starlings_," Amy corrected. "They're our cousins. Ned, Ted, and Sinead."

"No way those are their names," Nellie snorted.

"Yes way," Natalie continued watching the car in disgust. "How can you tell it's them?"

"It's hard to miss Sinead in the passenger seat." Amy blinked.

"You mean her ridiculous hair? I concur," Natalie wrinkled up her nose in disgust.

"It's um, part of the scavenger hunt. We can't let them follow us. We have to lose them, Nellie. Can you do that?" Amy asked urgently.

Nellie adjusted the mirror so she could look them in the eye. "Sit back, kiddos."

Amy and Natalie gulped and buckled their seat belts.

Nellie yanked the wheel to the right and the car meandered across three lanes of traffic. Saladin howled. Natalie sneezed. Drivers beeped their horns; Nellie ignored them and grinned like she was having the time of her life. Just as they were about to slam into the safety-impact barrels, Nellie slipped onto an exit ramp.

Amy and Natalie let out breaths of relief. They _lived_.

The last view Amy got of the Starlings was Sinead's face pressed against the window of the Mercedes, her jaw hanging wide open as she watched her competition get away.

"Did we lose 'em?" Nellie asked excitedly.

"_Mrrp!_" Saladin moaned.

"Oh, we lost them." Natalie declared. She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror. "Oh, no!"

"Are the Starlings coming back?" Amy asked.

"No, my hair's a mess!"

Amy stared at Natalie disbelievingly.

"That was a rush!" Nellie cheered. "Where to?"

"Locust Street. Step on it!" Amy instructed.

* * *

Nellie pulled up into the parking lot of the Library Company of Philadelphia. It was a big, red, brick building in the heart of downtown. Amy told Nellie to wait in the car with Saladin. Then they began walking up the front steps.

"Another library?" Natalie groaned. "Why can't the clue ever be at the mall?"

"Franklin founded this library," Amy told her. "It's got a lot of amazing books from his personal collection. I bet I can convince the librarians-"

"What's so important about this guy? He invented electricity hundreds of years ago."

"He didn't invent electricity, Natalie," Amy tried not to sound too annoyed. "He discovered that lightning was basically the same as electricity. He invented lightning rods to protect buildings and he experimented with batteries and-"

"I started the whole scarf trend and do I get famous for it?" Natalie crossed her arms.

Amy sighed. Sometimes, she could be really stupid. "Natalie, Franklin got famous for a lot of reason. He started out in a printing business and got rich that way. Then he became a scientist and began inventing. Later on, he helped write the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. He was also an ambassador to England and France. He was a genius. He was famous worldwide; everyone knew him. People liked him and he lived until he was around eighty years old."

"I didn't ask for his whole biography, Amy." Natalie rolled her eyes.

"Oh, sorry." Sometimes Amy was known to get carried away.

"So do you think he knew what it was?" Natalie asked.

"What?" Amy blinked.

"The big treasure that we're looking for,"

That never occurred to Amy. Benjamin Franklin was one of the most influential people in history. If he was a Cahill and he knew about this secret treasure...

"I guess we'll find out."

She pushed open the doors. A rush of cool air hit them. Amy led Natalie inside.

* * *

Luckily for them, the librarians were having a slow day. Amy wasn't shy around them at all. She loved librarians. She told them was doing a summer research project on Benjamin Franklin and needed historical documents. Instantly, they all fell over each other to help her.

Natalie kept looking at the door, like someone was going to appear at any second. No one did.

The librarians made Amy and Natalie wear latex gloves and sit in a climate-controlled reading room while they brought out old books. Natalie thought this was a little ridiculous. A woman set the first one down and Amy gasped. "This is Franklin's first cartoon!"

Natalie squinted at it. There was a picture of a snake, cut into thirteen pieces. Each piece was labeled with the name of an American colony.

"Aren't cartoons supposed to be funny?" Natalie asked.

Amy shook her head. "Back then, cartoons made a point. He's saying that if the colonies don't join together, Britain will cut them apart."

"Yeah, sure, of course," Natalie pulled out her laptop and powered it up. They'd been in the library for what, five minutes, and she was already bored out of her mind. Natalie didn't mind letting Amy do all the work. The library was her area of knowledge.

Amy examined the other artifacts. There was newspaper that had been printed on Franklin's own printing press, a copy of _Pilgrim's Progress_ that Franklin had owned...so many amazing things. What was she exactly looking for, though?

"Are you finding what you need?" the librarian asked. She had light brown hair tied up in a tight bun. She was very petite and looked fragile, like if she was sitting on a table and you pushed her off, she would shatter into a million pieces. Natalie thought she looked like a dormouse.

"Do you have more? I need things that were important to Franklin, please."

The librarian stood there, thinking for a while. "Franklin's letters were very important to him. He wrote many letters to his friends and family because he lived away from them in Europe for a long time. I'll bring you some of them." she adjusted her glasses and left the room.

"Franklin invented those, too." Amy said randomly.

"Librarians?" Natalie asked, frowning. Benjamin Franklin's was shooting down on her "Cool Meter."

"No, bifocals! He cut up two sets of lenses and pasted them half-and-half, so he could see long distance and short distance with the same pair."

"Oh." Natalie rested her head in her hand. She clicked aimlessly with her right hand. She had an e-mail from Alana, an invitation to a party from this boy named Rick...there was a notice about the big summer sale at the mall. Natalie would miss that. She sighed and began switching the light on the mystery flashlight on and off. There was something about it...

The librarian came back shortly with a stack of old letters preserved in plastic sheets. Amy read through each and every one of them, but it just made her feel hopeless. Nothing jumped out at her. How would she ever find the clue at this rate?

"I found it!" Natalie cried.

"Found what?" Amy thought she was playing around, but when Natalie turned the laptop to face her, there was a picture of a flashlight. It looked similar to the one Mr. McIntyre had sent them.

"It's a black light reader," Natalie announced proudly.

"Oh!" the librarian hobbled over. "Very ingenious. We have one of those for our collection."

Amy looked up curiously. "Why? What do they do?"

"They show hidden or secret writing. During the Revolutionary War, spies used invisible ink to send messages on documents that seemed harmless, like love letters or orders for merchants. The receiver would use heat or a special chemical to make words appear between the lines. We can't damage our documents by spraying chemicals on them, of course, so we use black light readers to check for secret messages instead," the librarian explained.

Amy held up their black light reader. "Can we-?"

"To save you time, my dear, we have checked all of our colonial documents as a matter of course." the librarian said. "There are no secret messages, unfortunately."

Amy's heart dropped. They'd wasted their time here and she still wasn't sure what she was looking for. She had a list in her head of other places to visit, but it was a long list. It was impossible to go to all of them before eight tonight.

Secret messages...

Franklin had written lots of letters to friends and family while living in Europe. _Follow Franklin._ A crazy idea began to take shape in her head.

"Is there another place where Franklin's letters are on display?" Amy asked the librarian.

She smiled. "Funny you should ask that. Some of his most famous handwritten documents are showing this month only at the Franklin Institute down on-"

"The science museum?" Amy shot to her feet. "On 20th Street, right?"

"Y-Yes." the woman looked startled. "How did you-?"

"Thanks so much!" Amy rushed out of the room, dragging Natalie behind her.

* * *

**Feel free to pelt me with whatever rotting vegetable you choose. It's been three months-which is a LONG time. I apologize for the delay, but there are many, many reasons.**

**First of all, school started a few weeks ago, and my teachers are complete nutjobs. Well, one of them is in particular. She's a blonde-headed demon who wears ridiculous lipstick.**

**I was also kind of stuck on what to do on this chapter, but miracle of all miracles, I figured it out! My beta, Another Artist was a big help as well in putting up with betaing my long chapter. Sorry, Amy! :)**

**As always, review.**

**But please don't just do this: OMG THT WUZ SO AWSUM PLZ UPDATE**

**Seriously? And FYI, telling me to update a story doesn't make me update any faster. It only irritates me.**

**Do I rush you when you're reading a story?**

**Yeah, no.**

**Anyways, just kind of putting that out there.**

**Thanks to the patient people reading this story. I hope I didn't disappoint with this chapter! (:**

**-Sky  
**


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